The Future of Adult Faith Formation2015 National Symposium

From October 1-3, 2015 over 100 faith formation leaders from across the U.S. and Canada gathered in Connecticut to explore the future of adult faith formation at a symposium convened by LifelongFaith Associates. The participants were guided through a scenario planning process to create four scenarios for the future of adult faith formation in congregations and to design strategies for using the scenarios to design new initiatives and projects in adult faith formation. On this webpage you will find:

Summary Report of the Symposium - presents the four scenarios with strategies

A Guide to Envisioning the Future of Adult Faith Formation - presents the four scenarios with strategies for using the scenarios in designing adult faith formation.

Facilitating an Adult Faith Formation Scenario Process - provides the Symposium process in a PowerPoint presentation that you can use to facilitate an adult faith formation symposium process in your faith community or denomination, as well as a guide to developing scenarios and examples of the scenario process in action, including the Faith Formation 2020 scenario planning process.

Symposium Documents - provides all of the reports from work of the Symposium

Video: Future of Adult Faith Formation: Scenarios & Strategieslearn about the scenarios and how you can use them in your congregation

​Symposium Summary Report & Guide

The results of the Symposium are reported in the new Guide to Envisioning the Future of Adult Faith - the Winter 2016 issue of the Lifelong Faith Journal. The Guide introduces the four scenarios and provides tools for using the scenarios in designing adult faith formation in congregations, designing programs and resources, conducting workshops, and training leaders for adult faith formation. The Guide is organized into the following sections:

Introducing Scenario Planning

The Focusing Question for the Adult Faith Formation Scenarios

Driving Forces Influencing Adult Faith Formation

Critical Uncertainties Affecting the Future of Adult Faith Formation

Four Scenarios for the Future of Adult Faith Formation

Strategies for Creatively Responding to the Four Adult Faith Formation Scenarios

Seasons of Adult Faith Book & Journal

The Seasons of Adult Faith Formation provides leaders with a deeper understanding of adulthood today, a vision of twenty-first century adult faith formation, and the tools and processes for designing faith formation for all the seasons of adulthood. The book’s chapters include:

Faith Formation for All the Seasons of Adulthood—John Roberto

The Development of Modern Adult Education and Faith Formation—Ed Gordon

Young Adulthood—Kyle Oliver

Midlife Adulthood—Jim Merhaut

Mature Adulthood—Janet Schaeffler

Older Adulthood—Dorothy Linthicum

Spiritual Transformation for Adult Faith Formation—Tom Zanzig

Developing Adult Faith Formation Programming—John Roberto

Designing Twenty-First Century Adult Faith Formation—John Roberto

This issue of the Lifelong Faith Journal extends the content in The Seasons of Adult Faith Formation book by providing four practice-centered articles for each season of adulthood written by the authors of the book. In these articles they explore effective practices for each stage of adulthood.​

This website is service of LifelongFaith Associates - committed to helping congregations develop lifelong faith formation for all ages and generations, increasing the capacity of leaders and communities to nurture faith growth.